Urhobo Historical Society
Sanusi
Lamido Sanusi�s
Narcissism
and Self Glorification
By
Muhammad Jameel Yusha�u
United
Kingdom
Sanusi lamido Sanusi
doesn�t have to be abusive before his voice is heard, one wonders what
he is
after, but the article on Sheikh Ja�afar Mahmoud Adam has finally exposed the larger
portion of his
character which he is trying to hide under the guise of �Islamic
Scholarship�.
People can now distinguish between true Islamic scholars who adhere to
the
teachings of Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W) and tried to abide by it
and
societal chameleons who could be bankers today, political analysts
tomorrow,
economist the day after tomorrow and the next morning appear as malikis with a dose of shi�a
doctrines in their cupboard.
One
is glad that Sanusi
has clearly told us his models in the persons of Kwame
Anthony Appiah, Majid
Fakhry, Sohail
Hashmi, Segun
Gbadegesin and Anthony Kirk-Green which
clearly depicts the
kind of mindset the combination of this people can produce. The
question of
identity which Sanusi takes on by trying
to brand
himself as non-tribalist is clearly recognised by Islam in a clear terms so that
people can use
their differences to understand one another. Allah says in the Qur�an �O
mankind! We have created you from a single (pair) of a male and a
female, and
made you into Nations and tribes, that you may know each other ( not that ye may despise each other). The most honoured of you in the sight of Allah is the
most righteous
of you. And Allah has full knowledge and is
well-acquainted
with all things� 49:13.
As
such the kind of identity given
to us by our Creator has a purpose; it is a bargaining asset which we
can use to
live in harmony with others. If Ahmadu
Bello, Tafawa Balewa,
Sa�adu Zungur,
Aminu Kano, Kashim
Ibrahim and
the rest of the first republic politicians did not recognise
their identity as Muslims and then Hausa or Fulani, Kanuri or Igala, how can they compete and succeed over the
more
advantaged southern counterparts who were then holding doctorate
degrees while
those from the north were school certificate holders? Simple logic
should make
us understand this arithmetic.
Most
recently if the question of identity
is not important, how can Olusegun Obasanjo be brought to Aso
Rock
assuming he hails from Borno or Nassarawa
state? It was clear that the arrangement of the Nigerian elite was to
bring
somebody from a particular location belonging to a specified tribe as
the new
commander-in-chief in order to appease that section of the country over
the
annulment of June 12 presidential election, it wasn�t surprising that
both the
candidates in the 1999 election were having the same identity.
Sanusi
argued that �The problem we have with some of our scholars
is their presumption that every Muslim must rely on them for mediation
not just
in understanding religious texts, in which they may or may not
have
achieved a standard of competence, but also in matters beyond their
competence,
such as the question of negotiating the difficult terrain of politics
and
developing true concepts of citizenship in plural societies. There is
nothing
wrong with an Imam participating in political discourse, but he must
understand
that memorizing thirteenth century texts written by Ibn
Taimiya will not make him an authority in
contemporary political thought, nor provide him with immunity from
ridicule,
the just recompense for pretentious posturing� well, I wonder who the
Muslims
should rely on for the understanding of religious texts if they don�t
ask the Ulama, should they ask M arxists
or those who think they can become scholars by simply having a
collection of
books in their library or trying to undertand
Islam
based on the interpretation of orientalists.
Even a
person suffering from insanity cannot ridicule a person in the calibre of Ibn Taimiyya. I can recall clearly while as a
student in CAS,
Kano during a books exhibition organised
by the
Muslim Students� Society, one of the principal officers of the college
then,
saw the collection of Majmu�ul fatawa of Ibn Taimiyya,
he became amazed by such wonderful work, and if somebody can treat
Kirk-Green and Anthony Apia with respect, the ability to �memorise�
the 13th century text by Ibn Taimiyya should equally be respected even from a
person
practicing a different faith. I don�t have to think twice before
stating that
the works of those stated by Sunusi
combined together
can not equal the works of Ibn
Taimiyya.
Sheikh
Uthman
Ibn Fodio (Yarhamuhullah) made it clear that a scholar
should
understand his religion and his time altogether. So what is wrong with
a
Scholar who understands the works of his predecessors and comment on
contemporary issues? It isn�t new for scholars to comment on
socio-political
issues. Imam Malik was a good example when
the people
of Madina were forced to make oath of
allegiance to Khalifa Al Mansur, Imam Malik
said it was not binding because it was done under
coercion.
According
to Sanusi�s
understanding Sheikh Ja�afar doesn�t have
the depth
of English language to understand his writings; perhaps Ja�afar
was relying on interpreters. One hopes that Sanusi�s
Arabic is deep enough without heavy reliance on Arabic-English
dictionary to
understand the 13th century texts of Ibn
Taimiyya which Sheikh Ja�afar
explains with ease. It is surprising that people can be so brain washed
to
think that you can only be learned when you can read in the roman
script.
One
of the hot arguments in Nigeria
in recent years is the issue of indigenes and settlers as signified in
the
Plateau State crisis. Unknown to many, even
the so
called intellectuals subscribe to that idea. Listen to Sanusi
Lamido Sanusi
�The truth is
that, by virtue of Divine providence and the circumstances of my birth,
up-bringing
and education, I have no need to announce
my ethnic,
religious, racial or family background, nor seek recognition on that
basis. I
take them for granted and I am more interested in who I am, in
the sense
of how do I become an exemplar of what I am? This is something Ja�far can never understand, and that is as it
should be,
because that is the difference between an exile without roots a nd his opposite� emphasis
mine.
Well
scholars of history will
explain better whether it is possible to find a nation where all the
inhabitants traced their roots in the place of their birth. As somebody
who was
born and brought up in Kano, I knew one of the things that made Kano
great is
its hospitality to accommodate people and treat them with all sense of
respect without
discrimination. That is why people elected Sabo Bakin
Zuwo without caring about his Nupe
roots, stood firmly behind Mallam Ibrahim Shekarau without thinking that his grand
parents might not be born in Kano, troop to Listen to Sheikh Ja�afar in Gadon
Kaya, Dr Ahmad Bamba
in
BUK, never cared to look at the ancestry of late Sheikh Nasiru
Kabara, and ready to stand even against
�their own�
as the case of Abiola vs. Tofa
in the 1993 presidential election.
Let
us learn to respect one another
and use the little knowledge Allah (SWT) endowed us with in building
bridges of
understanding rather than engaging ourselves in self glorification and
the
destruction of others. As for humble background, it�s more of a virtue
than an
act of ridicule , read the history of the Prophets, the
Companions and
other noble individuals, how many of them, to use the words of
late Mallam Aminu
Kano are �the sons
and daughters of Mr Somebody�?.
I
conclude with a hadith of the prophet
Muhammad (S.A.W) ��A Muslim is the
brother of another Muslim, do not hurt him, or look down upon him or
bring
shame on him. Piety is a matter of heart (the prophet repeated that
thrice). It
is enough evil for a person to look down upon him, Muslim brother. The
blood,
property and honour of a Muslim is
inviolable to a
Muslim�-Muslim